3 to compete at Junior Olympics

Friday

Jul 25, 2014 at 11:00 AM

By Mackenzie StephensSentinel staff

Three local athletes just can’t get enough of the pool.West Ottawa water polo players Blake Wheeler and Jacob Assink and Zeeland’s Curtis Berens will be spending their summer breaks battling it out in the pool at the U.S. Junior Olympic Water Polo Tournament in California, which begins Saturday.“They’re all very good,” Wheeler, a senior at West Ottawa, said of the talent in California. “They start at a young age — like 5 years old — you can tell that's their main sport.”Wheeler, Assink and Berens will play on Rockford’s 18 and under team. They took fourth out of seven teams at the midwest tournament, placing them in the championship bracket — the top 48 teams at the Junior Olympic Tournament.What roughens up the waters is the fact that these local athletes will be playing side-by-side with players they consider rivals during the school season. Rockford has gone undefeated for the past two seasons, and is coached by Dave McWatters, who is very experienced in the game.This summer, Wheeler, Assink and Berens will get to call the players of the Rockford powerhouse ‘teammates’ and McWatters, ‘coach’.“During the summer league, we’re good friends,” Wheeler said. “But when it comes down to it during seasons, we’re rivals.”This summer will be Wheeler’s, fourth time in the tournament, but for his teammate, Jacob Assink, this will be his first time in the California tournament."I'm excited for the trip," Assink, West Ottawa senior, said. "I've heard competition is really tough, so I'm looking forward to playing teams with high quality reffing."The athletes on Rockford’s summer league team practice every day for two-three months until they head to California for the seven day tournament.They will compete against teams from all over the country consisting of boys 18 and younger."It will help me grow as a player," Assink said. "And getting used to this level of competition will make the fall season easier."